Magic of a Memory
by ElfRanger
Summary: While spending the summer at No.12 Grimmauld place, Harry gets addicted to looking through Sirius's Pensive and the days of MWPP. Bad Summary. Please R&R!
1. Most Ancient and Noble House of Black

Hello All! I'm here with another fabulous fic. J/K. I hope you guys like it. This story just kinda hit me out of no where. Well here it goes. . .

Magic of a Memory

Chapter 1: The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black

Harry Potter, savior to the wizarding world, sat alone in his Godfather's house. It was a strange place, but Harry felt oddly at home in his new surroundings. Everyone in the house was a friend and all cared for his well being and happiness. That fact alone made the dark house feel warm.

It was currently one o'clock in the morning, and the boy-who-lived was far from sleep. Being the son of a marauder he often became restless and adventurous at odd hours such as this. He got up and began searching for a way to rid his self of the trouble causing feeling. However the thirst for mischief was not easily sated.

Wandering around Number Twelve Grimmald Place in the middle of the night was probably not one of the best ideas, but Harry couldn't convince himself to go back to bed. Some unknown force was pulling Harry up to the third floor and down the long hallway. He turned into the very last room on the left. Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust. Harry looked around the room, he was trying to find a clue as to where he was. The head board on the bed had a name written on it. Regulous, Harry had never heard the name and found himself wondering if Sirius had had any siblings.

Harry glanced around the room once more before turning to leave. As he was pulling the door shut, something caught his eye. The closet on the far wall of the room stood ajar. He found his inner marauder pulling him to the door. Upon closer inspection he found that the doorknob was not covered in dust. Cautiously, he pulled the door open. There, in a seemingly deserted closet sat a pensive. Throwing caution to the wind, Harry dove into the pool of memories.

The young Gryffindor found himself back in number twelve, but the bed now held Sirius's name. Looking closer he noticed a lump of blankets in the center of the rather large four-poster bed.

"Sirius! Sirius get up! You now Mum hates it when you sleep in, " a seven-year old boy with short cropped black hair and cold grey eyes waltzed into the room as if he owned it. "Come on! I don't want to get in trouble just because you're not a morning person!"

Harry watched as the lump rolled out of bed, and had to stifle a gasp. The eleven year old Sirius Black looked almost exactly like the older one, minus a few feet and facial hair. He had the same shoulder length black hair and stormy grey eyes.

"Reg! It's only six!" well, at least he looked like the older Sirius, his voice, however, was a complete octave higher than his normal baritone. Regulus gave Sirius a look that said everything an annoying little brother would like to say.

Harry followed the two boys down the stairs to the kitchen. There, in front of him stood the infamous Madame Black, and she looked exactly like her portrait in the future. She glanced over Sirius and before starting a tirade on how he should take more pride in the way he looked and that it was an abomination that he hadn't yet received his Hogwarts letter.

As if on cue, a large bard owl swooped across the kitchen and plopped a letter in front of his Godfather. Sirius proceeded to tear the letter open before doing some weird kind of victory jig and singing obnoxiously, "I'm going to Hogwarts! Hogy, warty, Hogwarts!" Madame Black bellowed at him to stop acting like an inbred muggle and to go tell his father to get ready to go to Diagon Ally. All the way up the stairs Sirius hummed the melody to his made-up song.

Orion Black was not someone Harry would have wanted to bump into in the store, much less live with. Sirius had immediately stopped humming when he stepped into his fathers office. He listened as the eleven year old relayed his message without so much as blinking at the wrong time.

"Yes, a trip to Diagon Ally is in order, but if you so much as cause a spider to drop dead you won't see anything but the cellar until September. Do you understand me?" Harry couldn't stop himself from shaking uncontrollably. Mr. Black was defiantly not someone to cross. Sirius mumbled a hurried "yes sir" before leaving quickly.

The young Sirius went back to his room to gather clothes and what-not before going to the lavatory to shower. Harry was forced to wait as his eleven-year old godfather went through his normal morning routine. He was surprised at how much time the boy took in his appearance. At eleven Harry had simply thrown on clothes and ran a hand through his hair.

Sirius put on an air of culture much different than his normal one. He was, for the first time ever, conducting himself in a respectable manor. Madame Black still found something to yell at him about, but it didn't seem to phase him.

When Orion entered the kitchen everything went still. Nothing was stirring, not even an elf. The four flooed to Diagon Ally and the trip stayed just as dull. That is, until Sirius caught sight of a young black haired, hazel eyed boy, Harry recognized as his father, putting something in a woman with red-hair's drink.

Sirius couldn't contain his laughter when the woman took a sip and her hair went from scarlet to lilac. Orion slapped Sirius across the face and pulled him away roughly. As unpleasant as Madame Black was, Orion had her beat by a long shot. Which is probably why they made such a good couple.

After the incident with the woman the Black family left Diagon Ally as quickly as they could. When back at Number Twelve, Sirius was yelled at furiously and sent to the basement. Harry watched as his godfather sat in the basement alone in the dark, letting the tears he couldn't show anyone roll down his cheeks silently. The fifteen-year old felt his heart breaking at what the child version of Sirius was forced to endure.

Without knowing how, Harry was suddenly back in his own time period. He quietly found his way back to his room and laid down. He contemplated what he had seen and wondered how Sirius had turned out so loving. He vowed that he would go back tomorrow night to try and find out. There was no way he could ever live with himself if he didn't.


	2. RIding and Sorting

Hello again!! I don't have any reviews on this story, and it makes me just a little sad, but the show must go on!! So here is the next chapter!! 

Chapter 2: Riding and Sorting

Harry decided it was better to not tell anyone about his adventure. He didn't quite know why, but he didn't want Sirius to find out he had been snooping. Harry was almost ashamed of it, but he knew he had to go back and learn more.

It was very hard for Harry to keep his mouth shut when Hermione gave him the look. The one that said I-know-your-up-to-something. It would only be a matter of time before she found out. Harry didn't really feel that nervous about her finding out, though. After all she could keep a secret better than anyone he knew.

As evening crept closer, Harry found himself becoming restless. He desperately wanted to see more of Sirius's past. The guilt he had felt early had passed as quickly as it had come. The Gryffindor had convinced himself that Sirius would have done a better job of hiding it if he didn't want anyone to find it.

Hour after antagonizing hour chimed by, until at tem o'clock Mrs. Weasley declared it time for bed. Harry followed Ron up to their room and began getting ready for bed. The two boys had some serious quidditch talk time before the red-head finally found slumber.

Harry glanced at the clock, 11:00 flashed in red letters at him. He cursed softly. The adults would be up for at least another hour, and Harry wasn't going to risk being caught out of bed. As he watched the time, the Gryffindor couldn't help but wonder what the Pensive would show him tonight. He was anxious to find out as much as he could about the infamous marauders and their many adventures through Hogwarts.

Midnight blinked across the clock face and Harry nearly jumped out of bed. He cracked the bedroom door open and listened. When silence met his ears, he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Quickly, he made his way to Regulus's room.

Harry glanced around, making sure no one was following him, before entering the deserted bedroom. He locked the door behind him and headed for the closed and the pensive. He closed the closet door behind him, and dove into the pool of thoughts. This time he was at Kings Cross Station, standing in front of platform 9 3/4. He glanced around quickly and found Sirius and his family heading over.

Mrs. Black was fussing about the number of muggles at the station and Sirius's father was watching him like a hawk. Sirius, however, seemed not to notice or care. He appeared to have had all of his dreams come true. Which was funny because he was going off to school. Regulus followed behind the rest of the family, looking like the perfect pure-blood child he was.

Harry followed and listened as Orion gave Sirius another speech about proper behavior of a pure-blood, and about what house he better get in. But not even his father's warnings could ruin Sirius's day. It was just that good. When his father finally stopped talking or better yet, yelling, Sirius hopped on the train and found an empty compartment towards the back.

Harry began to watch for signs of his own father. He had remembered Remus saying something about them all meeting on the train. He really hoped he hadn't heard wrong.

Harry sighed and took a seat across from his Godfather when the train began moving. Just as he was giving up hope of seeing any of his Godfather's friends, a scraggly, messy haired boy with hazel eyes and a chubby boy came barging through the door huffing and puffing. "Sorry, didn't see anyone in here," the hazel eyed boy said between breaths, "Do you mind if we sit in here for a while? We made some Slytherins mad by accidentally putting itching powder in their hair."

Sirius couldn't help but laugh, "I don't care, its not like anyone else is sitting there." Both boys smiled and plopped down in the seat across from Sirius, causing Harry to have to move.

"I'm James, by the way! And this is Peter." The small, chubby boy lifted his hand in a half wave, like he would have rather been somewhere else.

"I'm Sirius!" Sirius felt comfortable around these boys already, but knew that once they got off the train the small friendship would end. For he was destined to be in Slytherin. Everyone in his family, minus one aunt, had been, and it was apparent that James had a great disliking toward the green clad house.

James began a conversation on quidditch and Sirius immediately jumped in and helped him explain the wonderful game to Peter. Peter seemed very taken by all f the rules, and especially the fact that it was all played on brooms.

After quidditch, the boys discussed what they thought the classes would be like. Sirius was very careful to avoid the subject of houses and was glad that James hadn't asked for a surname. The boy was obviously came from a pure-blood family and would know of the infamous Blacks.

Two hours were gone before the boys knew it. They would have seemed to be the best of friends to any who were watching. Sadly, their fun was interrupted when a tall, black haired girl entered the compartment.

"Sirius! What are you doing back here? And in the presence of a mud-blood no less!" the girl was very brash and Harry recognized her as Bellatrix Lestrange, however, she wasn't a Lestrange yet.

"Get off it Bella. I couldn't find you, and I didn't know there was a muggle born in here," Sirius replied.

Bellatrix sneered and Sirius did the same, "Well, you've found me now, so come on."

"No, I like it here. Besides, I'm talking to a pure-blood too." Bellatrix looked over at James.

"He's a pure-blood alright. A muggle loving Potter!"

"Go away before I put more itching powder in your hair!" She let out a frustrated noise.

"Your mother will here about this!" She slammed the door behind her as she stormed out of the compartment.

"Who was that? And how did she know I was a Potter and he's a muggle born?" James asked.

"That was my cousin Bellatrix. And I have no clue how she knew all that. I could tell what your blood was by talking to you, but not by just looking," Sirius replied.

"Why aren't you supposed to be around muggle-borns?" Peter asked shyly.

Sirius sighed, he had hoped this wouldn't happen on the train, and so early in the ride, "I'm a Black." James gasped and Peter looked confused.

"As in the most ancient. . ." James was cut of by Sirius, "Yep, that's the one."

"Then why are you talking to us? I thought Blacks were too good for anyone outside their own family."

"Well, not this one! You two are way cooler than the entire Black community."

"James shrugged, "Alright, I'm friends with a Black. Well, as long as you don't end up in Slytherin, that is."

Sirius laughed, "Then our friendships on pretty shaky terms! Seeing as my _entire_ family has been in Slytherin."

"So? You don't seem to have any Slytherin like qualities," James said, knowing that Sirius would not be in Slytherin if he had his way.

"Can we talk about something else?" Peter asked nervously. The other two boys agreed.

An hour and a trolley full of food later, a knock came from their compartment door. James answered it, hoping that it wasn't another of Sirius's family members.

"Yes?" he asked as he opened the door. However, it was definitely not a Black, it was a small boy with tawny hair and wide amber eyes. "Um, may I sit in here? If there's enough room? Some fifth years kicked me out where I was sitting," he asked in a small voice.

"Hey Sirius, do we have room for one more?"

"I donno James, let me see," Sirius sauntered over to the door to see who it was. "I think we have enough room, don't you Peter?" Peter nodded his head in agreement, and James let the boy in. The three introduced themselves to the new kid, and he in turn told them that he was Remus. Harry was once again forced to move, and was shocked at how small and vulnerable Remus had once been.

The original three began a conversation about dung bombs and Remus sat and quietly watched. At one point in time he looked like he was going to say something but thought better of it. As the train ride wore on, Remus became a little more talkative, but not much.

By the time they reached the castle, Sirius was really, really hoping he wouldn't be put in Slytherin. All four boys got in the same boat to go to the castle, and they ooed and ahhed with the rest of the first years. Harry however was not impressed with having his father and godfather put their various body parts through him.

Hagrid led all of the 11-year olds up to the castle and in to the grand entryway where they were greeted by Professor McGonagal. "Good evening, and welcome to Hogwarts. In the next few moments you will be sorted into your houses. While you are here your house will serve as your family. Any good deeds you do will earn your house points, and any bad will lose them. The house with the most points will win the house cup at the end of the year. So I suggest you shape up. I'll be back in a moment to collect you. Use this time to prepare yourselves and please behave," she looked over the crowd once before walking off.

"What kind of test is this supposed to be again?" Peter asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

"I donno, my parents wouldn't tell me, they said it wouldn't be fair to everyone else if I knew," James replied.

"I donno either. No one ever told me and I never asked," Sirius stated. They looked to Remus.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know either."

McGonagall reappeared, and everyone followed her. She showed them where to stop, and walked over to a stool with a hat on it, "When I call your name, please take a seat and put the hat on your head. Christopher Andrews."

An averaged sized, blonde hair, blue eyed boy sat on the stool and put the hat on. The whole room was silent, until the hat cried out, "Ravenclaw!" A few more people were sorted before McGonagall called out Sirius Black. James clapped Sirius on the back before he headed up to the stool.

Harry found himself holding his breath as his godfather sat on the stool. Even though he knew that Sirius was put into Gryffindor, he didn't know how everyone else received him. After all, he was a Black that wasn't in Slytherin. _And _he was in the house's rival. It was a double whammy of epic proportions.

Sirius, by far, had been the one who wore the hat the longest before it finally shouted "Gryffindor!" There were no applause as Sirius took the hat off and waltzed over to the Red and Gold covered table. From what Harry could see, Sirius was wearing a huge grin on his face, as did James and Peter. Remus seemed to be to nervous to smile.

More names were called and then she called Remus Lupin. The entire staff's attention was fixed on the poor boy as he placed the hat on his head. Like Sirius, Remus took forever to be sorted, but he too ended up in Gryffindor.

It was a long wait fro Remus to Peter and then to James. Peter took only a few minutes and James being took only a second. All four boys smiled at each other, it appeared that their friendship would be allowed to grow.

Harry found himself back in number 12. He looked around, and there was nobody. He headed back to his room and laid in his bed for some time before falling asleep. He had to much on his mind, and many questions that he wanted answered. But he couldn't ask any of them. He couldn't bare the thought of Sirius thinking he was nosing around the house.


	3. Formation of the Marauders

Chapter 3: Formation of the Marauders

Harry spent the next day avoiding Hermione and her knowing looks. he already felt bad enough. There were so many questions that needed answering now that he had had a glimpse into the likes of his parents, he Had to know more. But he couldn't bring himself to ask Sirius, and risk him finding out.

Yet, at midnight he was back in the closet that housed the pensive. he dove in once again, wondering what he would uncover this time. He arrived in the Gryffindor common room. Seeing as the Christmas tree was up, he assumed that it was winter.

Harry turned when a large crash sounded from across the room. Of course he saw Sirius standing in front of a broken coat rack. "Sirius! I told you not to slide down the banister! Now were gonna get in trouble!" Remus said, comming down the stairs in a more dignified way. Sirius rolled his eyes, "No we won't Remus! Just fix it and no one will ever know." The werewolf sighed, "I won't always be here to clean up your messes! You and James both, need to learn the spells for yourselves!" "But I didn't do anything!" James complained. "Not yet," Remus retorted. James just gave him a defeated look. Peter was looking between the three of them waiting for them to break out into a fight.

"Now Sirius, would you please explain to the rest of us what exactly we're doing out of bed at three in the morning?" Remus asked, his tone still harsh from their argument.

"Of course! We're up at 3 a.m. so that no one will overhear our great plans for the perfect Halloween prank!" he replied deviously.

"That's a great reason! Have you decided who to prank yet?" James asked excitedly.

"Yes! But it will be a little more complicated, 'cause there will be a lot more people."

"How many more?" Remus was just a little worried by his friend's enthusiasm.

"Well... the entire school."

"WHAT?" the other three asked in shock.

"I knew you'd love it!"

"Sirius, you do realize that the entire school Will be almost impossible to prank?" Remus wasn't quite sure Sirius was thinking clearly.

"No it won't!"

"I have to agree with Remus on this one. It was almost impossible to prank those _five_ Slyterhins," James stated.

"But it would be easy if we got them all together at the same time."

"And when would that happen?" Peter asked timidly.

"At breakfast! Everyone's in there, so it wouldn't be as hard!"

"Well, do you have any grand ideas yet?" Remus asked.

"I have one, but we'll need a lot of your help Remus," Sirius replied. Remus sighed but nodded for Sirius to continue. "I want to charm the giant Pumpkins to insult all the Slytherins!" he said excitedly.

"I thought you said it involved the whole school," James said disappointedly.

"Oh, well I guess I did. Then we'll have to charm them for anyone who walks by," Sirius corrected.

"Where will you find a spell like that?" Peter asked. James and Sirius both turned to look at Remus.

"I don't know why you're looking at me. I certainly don't know how to do that."

"No, but you spend the most time in the library out of all of us," Sirius pointed out. Remus couldn't deny it. "How long do you think it will take you to find th right spell?"

"I donno. It could take weeks to find the right spell. And then, of course, we'd have to learn it."

"I have faith in you!" James stated with a goofy grin. Remus just rolled his eyes. There really was no telling how long it would take.

At a normal hour the next day, Harry found Remus in the library looking through a rather large stack of books. After watching Remus flip through books for over half and hour, Sirius and James came gallivanting into the library and sat across from Remus. "Have you found anything yet?" James asked.

"No, not yet. But it would go a lot faster if you two would help me look, " Remus said giving them a nasty glare.

"Don't be silly Rem, you know Sirius can't read," James stated getting a glare from his friend.

"I bet I could find the spell faster than you," Sirius retorted.

"Alright then! You're on!" and so the two Gryffindors began helping their friend find the correct spell. However, after Half an hour both James and Sirius were bored.

"Remus, how can you sit in here and read all day? It's so boring," Sirius stated.

"Well, it helps when your reading something you want rather than something for a prank," he replied. James and Sirius both looked down and began flipping through their books again.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Sirius stated shoving the book in Remus's face. Remus read over the passage and his face lit up with excitement.

"That's it Sirius! You found it, but it's a third year charm! It will take us ages to learn this and Halloween's in three days!"

"We can do it! We have all day today and all day tomorrow!" James stated.

"Fine, you to go find Peter and I'll meet you in our door. We can practice there," Remus stated.

The memory Harry was in jumped to the night before Halloween. The four boys were under James's invisibility cloak. They only charmed the giant jack-o-lantern that stood next to the entrance to the great hall. Luckily Remus had found a spell to delay the affect until eight o'clock the next morning and an amplifying spell so everyone could here the insults.

The next morning the boys had to force themselves to wait until a few minuets before eight to go down to the great hall. They somehow managed to make it right before the spell kicked in.

The first person to be insulted was a greasy first-year slytherin by the name of Severus Snape. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the enormous pumpkin told him he needed extra concentrated shampoo for his hair. The whole great hall burst into laughter, except for the teachers who rushed over to try and stop the jack-o-lantern.

The second poor soul was the red head from Gryffindor, Lily Evans. It told her she was a prude and that she needed to let her hair down and have some fun. Then a small Hufflepuff girl that it told needed liposuction.

After about twenty more people were insulted the teachers finally solved the problem. McGonagall looked right at Sirius and James, who were rolling on the floor with laughter. "Did you four have anything to do with this?" she asked them.

"No ma'am," they said in between laughing and breathing.

"Do you know who did?" again they replied no. "Well, then I'll have to find the marauding bunch of fools who did this!"

Later that day the four boys were studying in their dormitory when James broke the silence. "I've been thinking about what McGanagall said this morning."

"Why?" Sirius asked stunned.

"Well, I think we need a name."

"What kind of name?" Remus was curious to see what his friend was thinking of naming them.

"Well, a name for the people who did these pranks. So that we will have someone to blame them on."

"That's a great idea! But what would we call them?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, I'd love to here the name you've come up with," Remus stated.

James put a really shady face on, "The Marauders."

Harry once again found himself back in number 12. Using extreme caution he managed to get back to his room without getting caught. As he lade awake, Harry thought of how easily the ideas for things came to his father and Sirius. If only he could have gotten that particular gene the whole Voldemort situation would be a lot simpler. He was sure that if he came up with a plan, Hermione would be his Lupin and have the spell ready and waiting.

Sleep captured Harry and he dreamed , for the first time, about something other than Cedric's death. For one night he wasn't plagued with thoughts of the upcoming war. Instead, he dreamed of his father and mother, and all their friends and adventures.


	4. The Secret of Remus Lupin

Okay guys, I know it's been a while, but I'm back and I bring good tidings. lol. I like this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it too!

Chapter 4: The Secret of Remus Lupin

Harry awoke the next morning feeling extremely refreshed. He felt as if he had gotten more sleep in one night then the rest of the summer. He sat up and streched briefly before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. He was radiating happiness, and couldn't help it. Mrs. Weasley asked if he felt all right, and then took his temperature. Hermione and Ron continually eyed him as if he was about to go off, like a bomb. His mood seemed to make Sirius's mood lighter as well.

After lunch, Remus cornered him and asked him why he was in such a good mood. "Well, I didn't have a single nightmare last night. For the first time this summer I've gotten a full night's sleep. And Sirius is in a good mood."

Remus gave him a questioning look, "Is there any particular reason you didn't have nightmares?"

Harry thought about his answer carefully. He didn't need anyone catching on to what he was doing. "Not really. I've been reading this book and I was thinking about the plot before I went to sleep."

"What book?"

"Oh, just, um one of the ones we found in the Black Library."

Remus gave him a look that said everything Harry was trying to avoid. Lupin thought he was up to something. "Really? That's interesting," he looked at his watch, " Well, I must be on my way. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Bye professor!"

"Please, call me Remus. After all, you don't call Sirius Mr. Black, now do you?"

"Right, I'll see you when you get back then... Remus."

Lupin smiled, "Good-bye Harry." Harry watched his old professor leave before hurrying to the library. Now he had to find a book to keep up his facade.

After spending most of the day in the Black Library, Harry headed down to the kitchen for dinner. Everyone still seemed to be in a good mood. All through supper, Sirius joked and laughed without the slightest hint of sulking.

Seeing Sirius this way reminded Harry of the much younger Sirius he saw in the pensive. Much to his enjoyment, Harry was able to hear Sirius plotting with the Weasley twins. Evidently, Fred and George needed some help from a legend.

As usual, all good things must come to an end. Mrs. Weasley sent all of the "children" up to bed at eleven sharp. After making sure she was finished checking in on them, Harry and Ron talked a while about nothing particular. Not minutes later, light snoring could be heard coming form Ron's bed.

Harry watched the clock, waiting for the numbers to read one o'clock. At about twelve-thirty he heard the door open, and quickly feigned sleep. Gentle footsteps approached his bed. Harry felt the bed sink as someone sat down upon it, and began petting his hair.

"You know Harry, " Sirius's voice whispered, "Today was wonderful. I haven't felt this happy in ages. I'm assuming that this is how your parents would be. Your happiness would make them happy, as it does me. I will miss you terribly when you go back to Hogwarts. Just remember I'm here waiting for your letters. I want to here about everything you do, or whatever is happening in you life."

"Sirius?" another voice was at the door.

"Yes Molly?"

"You should wait until he's awake to tell him. It doesn't do much good when he's sleeping."

"I know, but it's hard to say to him when he's listening."

"I'm sure he wouldn't think so. He looks at you as he would James. Hearing any part of that would make him terribly happy. Good night Sirius."

"Good night Molly." Sirius was quiet for a few moments. "Sweet dreams Harry." The bed raised slightly, and a few seconds later the door closed softly.

Harry pondered over everything he had heard, and his chest swelled with emotion. He had never felt as loved as he did in that moment. Forcing himself to get up, Harry listened to make sure all was quiet.

He made his way to Regulus's room, feeling slightly guilty, but knowing he couldn't turn away. Harry made sure to close the door back behind him, and headed to the closet. He dove into the pensive, waiting for the scenery to appear in front of him.

This time he was in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius, James, and Peter all sat in a corner with their school books spread all over the place. All three looked up when Remus appeared on the stairs leading to the boys dormitories. They watched as he headed towards the portrait hole.

"Where're ya goin' Rem?" Sirius called across the room.

"Oh, uh, my mum's illness has had another flare up and my dad needs some help," Remus replied rather quickly.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" Peter asked.

Remus shuffled nervously and glanced at the window, "Just a couple days. She's never ill for very long."

"Well, we'll see ya then! Hurry back!" James waved. Remus gave a half wave back and half ran out of the room.

Sirius and Peter went back to their various assignments, but James stared after Remus.

Sirius looked up to ask James a question, and found him staring with his face all scrunched up from thinking. Sirius followed his friends gaze, but couldn't find what was so interesting. "James? Mate, are you all right?"

James jumped in surprise, "Oh, yeah." He looked at the portrait hole, shook his head and went back to work. Sirius looked over James for a few minutes before going back to work.

After a while, Sirius closed his book, through with his homework for the night. He looked to see how much James had left, and found his friend staring at his parchment with his quill stopped in mid-sentence. "James!" At his name, the boy jumped about a foot in the air before glaring at Sirius. "What the hell's up with you mate?" James shrugged and went back to his homework. "Don't you shrug at me! Something's up and I wanna know what it is!"

James looked, once again, at the portrait hole then back to Sirius, "Well, I was just thinking about how Remus is gone a lot."

"Yeah, his mum's sick," Peter stated.

"Every month?"

"I guess, I don't know all that much about terminal illnesses," Sirius stated.

"Sirius, take a look at your astrology chart. What happens tonight, that happens once every month?"

Sirius gave James an odd look, but pulled out the chart. "Nothing, well a full moo-" Sirius's mouth gaped open as he stared at James, who nodded.

Peter looked back and forth between them. What was he missing? 

"James! That's insane! There's no way, not Rem!"

"But look at all the evidence!"

"I don't ever pay attention, so how do we know it's the same time every month?"

"Well, it has been for the last two months."

"What do we do if it's true?"

"If what's true?" Peter asked, but was ignored.

"Nothing, he's still the same person, right?"

"Well, yeah, but are we gonna let him know that we know?"

"That we know what?" Peter was entirely lost.

"I guess. If he freaks out we'll know for sure."

"Let's wait a month. That way we can plan it a little better. We wouldn't want to make him mad if he is."

"If he is WHAT??" Peter said loudly. He was about to lose it if they didn't tell him.

"That's true."

"WHAT'S TRUE?"

James looked at Peter like he was an alien from a distant planet. "That Remus is a werewolf," he whispered. Peter gasped and let out a little squeak that sounded like "oh".

"Oh, is right, but let's not rush to any conclusions just yet. We'll give it a month." All three boys jumped when a wolf howled in the forbidden forest.

The pensive skipped ahead to the next month's full moon. James, Sirius and Peter were once again in their corner working. This time, however, when Remus came down they let him slip out unnoticed. James looked at Sirius the minute the portrait swung shut.

"Okay, so it's a full moon again, and Rem's gone. What next?" Sirius asked.

"I donno. I guess we ask him about it," James replied.

Sirius nodded, "But how is the question."

"We could just say 'Hey, we know your secret'," Peter suggested.

"No, he'd probably get upset," Sirius stated.

"Yeah. We could just ask him where he really was. Say that we sent him a letter and his parents said he wasn't home, " James tried.

"Nah, that's too mean."

The three boys spent several hours planning, but none of the ideas went over very well with Sirius. And seeing as Sirius was closest to Remus, the other two listened to him. James was getting ready to give up when Sirius got a very devious grin on his face. "I have it! It's absolutely perfect! And there is no way he could get mad!"

"Then enlighten us, oh great one!" James smiled. Sirius motioned them closer and looked around. He whispered quickly to his two comrades. "Sirius! You're brilliant mate!" Sirius smiled smugly.

Harry waited impatiently as the scene dissolved from the common room to the boys dorm. According to the calendar and clock next to James's bed, it was three days later at five in the morning. The trio sat on Peter's bed making last minute preparations and changes to their plan. James and Peter seemed a little nervous, but Sirius was radiating confidence. Nothing was going to screw this up for him. Not even Remus Lupin would disagree when it was all over.

At about a quarter after six, Remus entered the dorm. He looked extremely pale and tired, but in a good mood. "You three are up early. Is something wrong?" Remus pretended, very poorly, to be scared.

"Well actually, yes. Why didn't you tell us you were a werewolf?" Sirius asked.

Without missing a beat, James added, "Yeah? I mean, that's pretty much the coolest thing...ever! And you kept it from us!"

"I kind of understand with all the prejudices and everything," Peter stated.

"But you should have known we wouldn't care. You're still the same Remus." Sirius ended.

Remus looked as if his whole world had just come crashing down. "Ho-how d-did you f-find out?" he stuttered. The werewolf's entire body was shaking violently.

"Well, James sorta figured it out and asked us what we thought. At first I was like 'no way' but the more I thought about it, it makes sense. So, we decided to see if it was really tire. And it is! Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius explained.

"I-I was af-fraid. Y-you haven't t-told anyone have you?" Remus was still trembling.

"No mate, why would we tell anyone? It doesn't make any difference to us, but it might to other people," James tried to reassure the poor boy.

"Why are you shaking," Peter asked.

"Because I've just been found out and I'm scared! Do you realize that by you knowing, it jeopardizes my entire life? If anyone finds out you know, or if you slip up and tell someone with a family member in the ministry I won't be able to stay at Hogwarts! I'll be put in a cage in the ministry and treated like a blood thirsty beast!"

"Rem! No one knows anything. We haven't told anyone anything, and we're not going to. Your secret is safe with us!" Sirius stated.

"Yeah!" James agreed happily.

Remus shook his head wearily.

"Remus, we're the marauders! You being a werewolf doesn't change anything. Besides, I've got a few questions if you don't mind answering them."

"What?" the boy had finally quit shaking.

"How long have you been one?"

"Since I was six."

Harry listened intently as the boys bombarded Remus with questions. He hadn't realized just how much Remus had to deal with. No one should have to live all their life with those cruelties. Especially not as a six year old kid. He defiantly had a new found respect for his once professor.

The pensive decided that he had seen enough and threw him out. He just hoped that he would be able to sleep with all of this new information on his brain. He would defiantly be interrogating Remus with a few questions of his own.


End file.
